By MARTY TRILLHAASE
May 15, 2019

It' s admirable that Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, and Reps. Mary Dye, R-Pomeroy, and Joe Schmick, R-Colfax, compiled a perfect attendance score in Olympia this year.

But when you' re following strict rules, it' s easier to be diligent.

Schoesler, Dye or Schmick operate under a less-than-forgiving system: If they don' t show up to vote, their constituents back home in the 9th Legislative District will hear about it.

Not so in Idaho.

Spending time in the Legislature interfering with your business?

Get yourself a temp.

Legislative service interfering with your vacation plans?

Hire a sub.

Want to get an early jump on campaigning for office?

Appoint a fill-in.

You can' t find a more lenient system anywhere else.

It' s almost as if the legislators wrote this law for themselves ' which, of course, they did. After all, this is same group that had to be dragged kicking and screaming before relinquishing a lucrative public pension perk. This is the same collection of politicians who won' t submit to outside ethics reviews or disclose minimal financial conflict of interest information about themselves.

In Congress and in most state legislatures, you vote or you don' t. You either resign or you don' t. Even grave illness is no excuse. For instance, the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., stayed home while he was suffering from terminal brain cancer last year.

When Brenda Erickson, a senior research analyst at the National Conference of State Legislatures, looked into this a few years ago, she found a handful of states, including Washington, that allowed legislators to get a temporary substitute if they were called up for military service. The rest made no exception.

But in Idaho, a lawmaker can take time off "for any reason," nominate a designated replacement and have the governor make the appointment "until the incumbent …. shall be able to resume the performance of his duties. …"

This year, 11 state representatives ' nearly 16 percent of the House ' and six senators ' 17 percent of that chamber' s membership ' took time off and relied on a temp.

The first one to take a break was Rep. Thyra Stevenson, R-Nezperce, who on Jan. 17 relied on Morgan Lohman of Lewiston to serve as her substitute. By the end of the session last month, there were so many temps on the House and Senate floor that you might have trouble keeping them straight.

Some absentees, such as Sen. Dan Johnson, R-Lewiston, had medical reasons. Johnson required shoulder surgery and departed on March 27 ' about two weeks before final adjournment.

Then there was Senate President Pro Tem Brent Hill, R-Rexburg. A scheduled trip to Vietnam beckoned and the highest ranking member of the state Senate left his post on April 4.

"Through an organization called Globe Aware, we spent long days working at a school for deaf children, building a home for an elderly widow, teaching English and other activities, " Hill explained to his constituents in a newspaper column. "Because Idaho' s legislative session persisted longer than expected, I finally asked Eric Erickson to fill in for me for what I assumed would be the last day or two, so I could keep my other commitment in Vietnam."

Nobody elected Erickson.

Nobody elected Kay Maurin of Moscow, either.

She subbed for Rep. Caroline Troy when the Genesee Republican needed to be in Alaska at the end of February.

While Troy was gone, Maurin joined a narrow majority of House members in killing a bill that would have ended the practice of allowing children younger than 16 to be married in this state.

Troy was a co-sponsor of that bill. Somehow, she failed to convey that information to Maurin ahead of the vote.

Who knows how the outcome might have changed had Troy been in Boise that day? At least, the measure would have had one more vote. Possibly, Troy' s advocacy might have swayed other House members to join her in passing it.

There is no more egregious case than that of former Rep. Paulette Jordan, D-Plummer. Last year, she got the bug to run for governor and preferred campaigning to remaining at her job. Ultimately, Jordan resigned ' but until she did, Idaho' s easygoing system allowed her to have Margie Gannon serve as her temporary replacement.

At some point, the system seems to feed on itself. If they operated under tougher rules, would legislators schedule vacations that could conflict with a longer-than-expected session? Would they take time off for business trips?

Or, if Idahoans weren' t so tolerant, would their elected representatives in Boise stay put? ' M.T.

Lewiston Morning Tribune

Idaho Senator Brent Hill shares the profound impact a Globe Aware volunteer vacation he took to Vietnam with his sons had on him.

What Vietnam taught me about Idaho

By Sen. Brent Hill | Guest columnist Apr 25, 2019

Vietnam. The very word sent chills down the back of every young man facing possible military draft during the sixties. It summoned to the mind other words like guerrilla warfare, Vietcong, communism, casualties. Over a quarter of a million American families lost a loved one in the Vietnam War. Four times that many Vietnamese were killed.

As a boy growing up in the 1960s, I never expected to visit Vietnam ' at least not for peaceful purposes. But earlier this month, three of our sons and one of my brothers traveled with me to an island in Vietnam.

We were there to conduct service projects in a country still recovering from decades of war. Through an organization called Globe Aware, we spent long days working at a school for deaf children, building a home for an elderly widow, teaching English and other activities. Because Idaho' s legislative session persisted longer than expected, I finally asked Eric Erickson of Rexburg to fill in for me for what I assumed would be the last day or two, so I could keep my other commitment in Vietnam.

Mixing mortar with shovels and laying brick in 95-degree weather with 88 percent humidity was difficult compared to sitting in airconditioned committee meetings at the statehouse. But it was also therapeutic. Surrounded by deaf and hard-of-hearing children longing for attention and starving for affection helped put life' s challenges back into perspective.

Mai McCann is a dedicated nurse from Australia. She works three months each year in Australia so she can spend the other nine months in Hoi An, Vietnam, helping hearing-impaired children. Through her school known as Hearing and Beyond, she teaches 26 students, ages 3-16, with many more on a waiting list ' children who would otherwise remain uneducated, lonely, socially isolated and sometimes abandoned.

In a rundown building with limited facilities, the children are taught social and life skills while learning Vietnamese sign language, reading, writing and math. They are fed modest meals, some of which comes from a small garden behind the school. We spent one day building a chicken coop so they could have eggs and meat for some meals. But the best part came the next day when we unexpectedly showed up with two dozen hens, five hundred pounds of rice and a bag full of small toys and games for the children.

I have enjoyed smiles before ' I have cherished expressions of appreciation ' but none have been more poignant than the smiles of joy and shouts of gratitude from excited children who had so little to be grateful for.

Although most of the work was completed, I felt bad about leaving the legislative session before final adjournment. But the few hours I missed surrounded by skilled colleagues within the walls of the Capitol were surpassed by the days I spent laying brick and constructing a modest chicken coop surrounded by children who could neither hear nor speak, but who effectively communicated life' s most important lessons.

In contrast to what I saw in Hoi An, Idaho' s economy is near the top nationally and our poverty rate is one of the lowest. This is one of the safest places in the world to live. We continue to attract businesses and families wanting to relocate in a state that values education, workforce development, quality of life, freedom and family.

I love this state. And the short time I spent away from Idaho, in a country I grew up despising, not only taught me to cherish the people there but also deepened my love for Idaho. I needed to be reminded again how blessed we are and, for a time at least, I will feel more grateful, smile more often, serve more willingly and love more compassionately.

Brent Hill is the Pro Tem of the Idaho Senate.

Idaho Post Register